Major blow! Another Barcelona player suffers ACL injury

Barcelona have suffered another major injury blow, as defender Andreas Christensen has sustained an injury to his anterior cruciate ligament and is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines. 

The 29-year-old Barcelona's career has been a story of one injury problem after another. This season, even when he has been fit, Hansi Flick has been wary of calling upon him, handing him only three LALIGA starts. 

However, his standout performance against Guadalajara in the Copa del Rey last week signalled to Flick that he could be counted upon, before news of his unfortunate injury in training on Saturday. 

The Blaugrana released an official medical statement, announcing that the Denmark international suffered a partial tear to his ACL. However, they also revealed that he will not be having surgery, as a conservative treatment route has been chosen. 

“The first team player, Andreas Christensen, has a partial tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee as the result of an unfortunate twist of the knee in Saturday’s training session,” the statement read. 

“After tests carried out on the player, a conservative course of treatment has been chosen. The player’s recovery time will depend on his progress.”

Meanwhile, Christensen’s injury could not have come at a worse time for Barcelona, and Ronald Araujo is also out; an absence was granted by the club for the Uruguayan’s mental wellness after a disastrous performance in the Champions League against Chelsea affected him adversely. 

Hansi Flick now has only three players to count on at centre-back: Pau Cubarsi, Eric Garcia and Gerard Martin, with the possibility of also calling upon Frenkie de Jong. 

The situation is less than ideal, and with the January transfer window approaching, Barcelona could be forced to sign a central defender ahead of schedule, as they had initially intended to bring in a player in the position next summer.